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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fall — to drop
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. clip — to cut
  6. club — for golf
  7. face — to point toward
  8. club — a group
  9. swing — to play on
  10. court — of law
  11. face — part of the head
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — a law
  15. court — for sport
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. swing — in golf
  20. court — of a king
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. face — to confront
  23. club — for dancing
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com